Saturday Mar 29, 2025
Saturday Mar 29, 2025
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Richard Hillinger with His Holiness the Dalai Lama
The Golden Dove of Peace which has been traversing the world for 25 years
Former German President Roman Herzog (centre) holds the Golden Dove of Peace. The
sculptor of the dove is on the right and the Mayor of Landshut on the left
I am not naïve. But I am hopeful. The idea is to awaken one heart at a time and possibly bring some element of realisation of the reality of this world every time the dove gets into each hand. I opposed the idea that we should only get the dove into prominent hands. The idea was that it should be a symbol of world peace for as many people as possible and this would include a cross section of the public including children, youth and clergy members – Richard Hillinger
By Surya Vishwa
Let us free the introspection of our minds to rise up to the blue and the white intermix of this celestial ceiling of our universal home; the sky. Let us look up. This is the dominion of many winged beings that belong to a space that is the envy of man. No man can raise himself bodily to this realm. Yet here too, there is life and there is the struggle for survival.
The eagle. The hawk. The vulture. The dove. They lace into the wind and thread the tresses of the trees. As they fly above the patches of earth that man has demarcated and wage wars for, among the clouds too there is life and death. There is the innocence and there is the preying. There is the resilience. The hope. The renewal. And through the ages, man has singled out from the empire of the horizons far above, a miniature winged creature; the dove, that has through the passage of time represented innocence, love, peace and forgiveness. Although hunted by its more powerful winged brethren with sharp beaks and talons, the dove which can if necessary soar up to 6,000 feet proceeds on a flight of calm amidst the turbulence of fate.
Throughout human history this small white feathered bird has been featured in several religious and cultural lore symbolising divinity, purity and that ethereal luxury man finds scarce; peace.
The dove, in popular imagery links heaven and earth and is depicted carrying an olive branch. This representation is thought to have first originated with the Biblical story of Noah where the end of flood is indicated by the dove which returns to the Arc carrying an olive branch and thus communicating that life on earth has stirred once again.
The concept of the Holy Spirit introduced by Jesus Christ portrays a Christian theological visual representation of a pristinely white dove descending from heaven.
(The terminology of the Holy Spirit can in secular terms be defined as the connection of human mental energy to the highest point of Supreme Light in the cosmos, the synergy which magnetises when human consciousness is purified to a similar extent as the highest hierarchical point of the universe).
A messenger for humankind
The non-confrontational nature of the white dove has been etched in history as denoting pacifism and it has in ancient times been the carrier of messages of peace between armies, signalling the end of bloodshed. The dove therefore is a creature that can be trusted to traverse great distances relentlessly and therefore trusted as a messenger for humankind.
What is the purpose of us humans on this earth? How do we gain a sense of fulfilment? What is freedom? Why are there wars? Can we do anything about it? How much wealth do we need to be joyous?
Many of us have asked at least one of these questions from ourselves at some point of our lives.
German conceptual peace artist and sculptor Richard Hillinger, who has been engaged for the past 25 years in one of the world’s oldest social art initiatives, creating bronze doves ‘who fly out’ to visit different places and people, carrying their messages of peace started asking several of the above questions when he was a teenager.
His identity as a peace activist through art began when he was around 30 years of age. He suggested a peace diplomacy initiative to his local Mayor’s office. He told him that he would start sculpturing life size doves to be a symbol of world peace and that this could be a world award created by his hometown to bestow on different global personalities and entities who were engaged in ushering in human rights, empathy and justice.
His initiation of the peace award commenced by his idea to send an email to Nobel Peace Laureate, Lech Walesa, the first democratically elected President of Poland who ushered the end of the Cold War. Richard wrote of his intention for an international peace award to given by his local town Landshut in Bavaria routed through the office of the town Mayor. To the surprise of his Mayor who nearly dismissed Richard’s idea on grounds that there would not be a conducive international response, the Polish President’s office accepted the invitation as per the rather informal email sent by Richard on behalf of his town and its highly sceptical mayor!
Thereafter a host of international figures known for peace such as Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbashev, Pope Benedict XVI, the Dalai Lama, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and representatives of organisations such as Amnesty International and the European Parliament have received this award. A key prominent awardee was Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Janos Horn who played a major role in demolishing the iron curtain for East Germans in 1989 and leading the subsequent unification of Germany.
This success brought Richard Hillinger the attention of the German politician, judge and legal scholar who was above all a champion of peace. He became the first President to be elected after the reunification of Germany. Professor Herzog who served as President from 1994 to 1999 hailed from the same town as Richard and met him to congratulate him on his initiative with the peace prize.
“I then told my President that I would like to follow up on the peace award and sculpt bronze peace doves to be sent all across the world so that the dove would convey a message for peace awareness in every corner of our planet.”
“President Herzog then told me, Richard, you are a man of art. You decide what you wish to do more concerning the dove of peace from Germany. I will authorise this endeavour.”
Longest running global peace art legacies
Thereby President Prof. Herzog lent his name to what is now one of the most consistent and longest running global peace art legacies that has survived him. The former German President and respected legal academic, Roman Herzog died in January 2017 at the age of 82 but by this time his staunch encouragement resulted in Hillinger steadfastly continuing with creating more concepts and artefacts centred on world peace. Richard had laid a firm platform towards arts based activism.
The Golden Dove of Peace received yet another new lease flight in 2008 on the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations.
Richard emphasises that he realises that his peace dove and related art-based endeavours would not overnight stop the wars of the world.
“I am not naïve. But I am hopeful. The idea is to awaken one heart at a time and possibly bring some element of realisation of the reality of this world every time the dove gets into each hand. I opposed the idea that we should only get the dove into prominent hands. The idea was that it should be a symbol of world peace for as many people as possible and this would include a cross section of the public including children, youth and clergy members.”
Richard’s Golden dove of peace was presented in 2015-16 to the Neve Hanna children’s home in Kiryat Gat, Israel in recognition of its outstanding work in educating children in accordance with the principle of tolerance, democracy and love of fellow humans, keeping specially in mind the work of Neve Hanna in creating international understanding between Jewish, Bedouin and Christian communities.
Among the many other interesting locations around the world the dove has been to, is the Silent Night museum in Hallein in Salzburg, Austria in the Autumn of 2022. The dove was assigned to Franz Xaver Gruber, the composer of Silent Night!
In November 2023 the Dove of Peace was handed to Min Iman Suleiman Ibrahim Minister of State Police Affairs, by German Ambassador to Nigeria, Annett Günther for her role in promoting peace and safety in Nigeria.
Decades after his insistent steps as a young man to make his art travel around the world, Richard recalls his teenage decisions that impacted his adult life decisions.
“I am from the small town of Landshut in Bavaria. My mama asked me when I was 17 years old what I wanted to do with my life. I said I want to travel. Is that all you want to do Richard, she asked and I said yes mama, my traveling will tell me what I want to do.”
This declaration was the gateway that led him to first visit India, at the age of 18. He stayed there for a year alternatively living in places such as Goa, Rajasthan, Bombay and Kerala.
His travel to Sri Lanka coincided with the 1983 ethnic riots in the island which may have also planted the first seeds of committing his life to art-based peace activism.
Describing himself as an artist of concept Richard speaks on Germany’s difficult past as he notes that January 27 which was the date that the gates of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp was thrown open in 1945 by the Soviet Army was made into a day of commemoration by President Prof. Roman Herzog.
“Such remembrances are important for the purpose of ensuring that despite wars continuing through time, that humanity would not be complacent in treating such abominations as normal.’
Asked if he has personally been to Israel and Palestine with the Dove of Peace Richard reiterates that he has.
Mankind will evolve into a higher consciousness
“When I first visited Israel with the dove I was stopped at a check point and I knew that if I had just quipped that I was Swiss that it would be easy on me but I stated that I was from Germany. I did not have any issue and was let through. This is the hope that I have that mankind will evolve into a higher consciousness, whatever the odds. It may not happen today or tomorrow but the important thing is that the journey for peace by those who cherish it and carry its message continues.”
Richard Hillinger interestingly does not speak of money making. When asked how he relegates his art mission for peace high most on the list while not giving much attention to the bills and existence woes that is the bane of many, he points out that he had learnt from India that if a human is to be free he has to strive to be rich in an integrated way and not only through money.
“Yes, I have earned through art but art is my life too and cannot be quantified. Freedom cannot be quantified. I learnt early in life to be a minimalist and to be logical in all my life based decisions. I need a car yes, but I need it to take me from one place to another. I need a comfortable house yes, but I do not need a vast structure that I would tire myself out to maintain. I need a studio for my art, yes, but I need not strive unnecessarily to build or own one as an artist is a man of his community and thereby I accepted a premises offered to me. I desire certain luxuries that are important for me which may be books, art, music, travel, freedom and peace of mind. Having now reached the age of 65 I am happy that each day I wake up healthy, to my art, and to the continuation of the peace mission with the peace dove sculpture begun over two decades ago.”
This year he has embarked on another art project involving the painting of the dove by different children of the world.
What is amazing is that this renowned global artist insists that he is what he is today thanks to India and Sri Lanka.
“India and Sri Lanka taught me everything. I travelled by bus, train and by walking. If I did not have money fellow human beings in these countries fed me. I learnt from the determination of the people in these two nations. The recognition that I can do anything I want I owe mostly to India and Sri Lanka. I realised how little I have learnt about life in the classrooms I had sat in as a child and teenager when I saw the different levels of existence that are lived out particularly in India. I travelled in trains with hundreds of people, walked to many places of worship and exalted in the human interactions I made daily.”
Richard Hillinger has in his adult years visited scores of countries across the world but Asia remains his favourite region.
“I have those who tell me they have travelled to countries such as India where the culture is different. The first thing I ask them is how they travel. Do they go on pre booked tours which accord the luxuries of tourism coaches and meals in opulent hotels? Or do they travel alongside the citizens of those countries, eating and living as they do? If they do the latter then I tell them they have my respect.”
Make humanity your art and art your humanity
How and when did his journey of art start? What was his inspiration to embark on the creation of bronze doves?
“I lived in a family which I suppose like many families spent a lot of time worrying about money and the earning of it. In my early teens to the age of 18 I worked in an art and artefact store. Here I met a totally different kind of people whose conversations revolved around not money making but art, cinema, literature and travel. I was influenced by solid three years from age 15 to 18 in this place which was akin to an art and aesthetics university for me. India was thereafter my higher and highest education,” smiles Richard.
What is his advice to young people?
“Live your art. Love your life. Make humanity your art and art your humanity. Create your happiness. Create the happiness of others.”
Note: The global work of Richard Hillinger is too extensive to be framed into one writeup. Hence we will be following through with a detailed interview with this artist for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II which falls on May 8, 1945. This is part of the peace series that the Harmony Page carries out every year in our annual campaign to commemorate May, the month that Sri Lanka ended its three-decade civil war in 2009. Since 2021 we have been running the campaign ‘May as a month of peace,’ promoting the commemoration of the end of Sri Lanka’s ethnic strife to be celebrated in a common platform, mourning for the loss of all lives alongside the pledge of never allowing violence to ruin this nation ever again. The Harmony Page is collaborating with Richard Hillinger to conceptually work with the dove of peace in Sri Lanka and Asia.
